When implementing these rewards programs(which are now available on many debit cards, the bank I work for currently offers a dime for every time you use your debit card to purchase anything over $1. This adds up if you use your debit card a lot for smaller purchases. I buy a soda every day(so unhealthy) for $1.37, I get a dime. If i do that 365 days, I spend 500, but receive in rewards 36.50. That’s a 7% rewards rate.

BTW, Discover and AMEX are the two most expensive cards to accept, and can sometimes cost up to 8%. Most other costs aren’t much below that. 2.5% would be much closer to what Visa/Mastercard charge for a keyed in card(the most expensive way to process a transaction)

As a side note about debit cards. A compromise is about as frequent as with credit cards. The process may be different but that is because we are talking about cash, not a loan. The liability limits are essentially the same. I’ve banked with 6 banks in my life, and I’ve worked at two, neither that I’ve worked for ever made you responsible for a dime and one of the ones I’ve banked with did not either. The other 3, I can’t speak for, never had that problem.

Those that claim debit cards bearing a visa/mc logo are not as secure as credit cards obviously do not understand that both use the same network, both use the same plastic(basically) and both are treated the exact same way by a merchant.

If someone finds your credit or debit card, they can get pretty much whatever they want. It’s not very often someone verifies the signature, or even if you write see id, that’s often overlooked. It’s a fact of life(PS. Not signing your card is the absolute stupidest thing you could do because what if in the off chance someone does get your card and signs the bank and the clerk verifies the signature? Hmm, If the crook signed your card for you, guess what matches? The Signature).

@Soren: The only problem I have that idea is that you would pay it anyways. Seriously. Me not using a credit card has 0% impact on the companies that accept them (and pass the costs on).

It’s become a standard business expense and people just have to adapt.

I also agree on the security. Those cash-envelope people are nuts

Any additional costs incurred in the supply chain eventually cost the consumer. We pay for those rewards through increased price points from the merchants, who can’t afford to allow their profits to dip too dramatically as a result of increased use of plastic.

The question is not so much one of rewards and other nifty incentives from the credit card companies (which are based on appeals to emotion) but of security: I DO tend to feel more secure with a piece of plastic in my wallet instead of $300 in cash. That being said, I pay for the security—although it is often well-covered by a sweet layer of I’m-flying-to-Vail-frosting so it goes down smoooooth.

So if you are using a Mastercard to book a Delta airline ticket and you get certain miles, it is because there is a contract between Delta and Mastercard too.

It’s not cool to try and make people feel guilty when they earn rewards on their CCs because someone else is not responsible with their money.

I still don’t understand how the anti-credit card people have a leg to stand on anymore. In regards to using Debit cards instead of Credit cards, like Troy mentioned, I can say I will NEVER use a debit card. I used to work in a bank and had several people have their debit card numbers compromised and lost everything in their account and the banks typically take at least a week to sort it out with their security department before reimbursing the customer anything.

With my credit cards I don’t have to worry about money disappearing from my bank account and having to plead with my bank to get it back. Instead I simply dispute any unauthorized charges on my CC and I never have to pay them in the first place.

Seems like common sense to me…